I’d like to strongly condemn plans by a Florida church to burn the Quran on Saturday, the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Instead, I think everyone should read the Quran, and then read the New Testament – and compare.

After doing that, I’m not sure why anybody would want to follow Islam in preference to a biblical faith. But I’m also puzzled as to where the pastor of the small “burn” church came up with his cockamamie scheme.

Terry Jones, leader of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., made this provocative announcement. “We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam,” Jones said. “We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats.”

The church congregation is small, comprising just 50 members. But, thanks to news reports amplified worldwide by the Internet, the local pastor’s message reached to Washington and beyond.

In Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of U.S. efforts there, said the demonstration in Florida could harm the war effort in that nation. Visual images of burning Qurans would likely stir up strong emotions in the Middle East and elsewhere, putting American soldiers in danger, the general added.

Protestors demonstrated in Kabul, the Afghan capital. And in Jakarta over the weekend, about 3,000 people marched to the U.S. Embassy, condemning the plans to burn the Quran. Similar rallies were planned for five other cities in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

What is striking is that the arguments put forth by Terry Jones mirror the offensive arguments put forth by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Muslim leader spearheading the push for an Islamic mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan.

Both argue that they are merely exercising freedom of speech and religion. Both seem to be clueless that common decency and respect for the beliefs of others means sometimes limiting the exercise of those rights.

(Unfortunately, this also reminds me of a worse bunch: the people at a Kansas church who dishonor God by claiming to be Christians while hoisting signs that say that “God hates (homosexuals).” Read the book, people: the biblical text says that God loves people, even if he does not condone what they are doing.)

That does not mean, of course, that free speech does not sometimes offend, and offend deliberately. Free speech is not always “sensitive.” But gratuitous insults toward those you are trying to win over are not in order.

Those who clam to follow the biblical message, and the God it reveals, should be especially careful to convey love and compassion toward their neighbors.

The Imam says he is trying to convince Main Street Americans that Islam is “moderate” – let him act in accordance with that claim, and move the mosque someplace else.

And Terry Jones should read the part in the New Testament where Jesus talks about loving your neighbor, thereby helping your neighbor fall in love with your God. That means treating your (yes, Muslim) neighbor with respect, even if his belief system is different from yours.

Instead of burning your neighbor’s Quran, read your neighbor’s Quran. Invite your neighbor to read your New Testament. The God described in one book is very different than the God described in the other. The books report, but you decide. Which is the winsome God?